Campus expands course offerings
UC Berkeley students seeking to enroll in basic foreign language courses may soon find it easier to get into the courses of their choosing. Campus leaders announced this week that more than half a million dollars will be allotted to expand foreign language course offerings in 2011-12. This is part of a larger effort to ensure that even during these difficult budgetary times, students have access to key undergraduate courses that are often overenrolled.

Three UC Berkeley athletic teams to be preserved
Three athletic teams at UC Berkeley, slated to cease intercollegiate competition at the end of this academic year — women’s lacrosse, women’s gymnastics and rugby — will be preserved, campus officials announced Feb. 11.

Faculty experts weigh in on Egypt
Since the uprising in Egypt began, members of the UC Berkeley faculty have been called on to offer their expertise at public forums and in the media. The Berkeley Blog also has featured faculty insights on Egypt, including one recently by Professor Malcolm Potts, who recalled his face-to-face meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.

Chinks in the brain circuitry make some more vulnerable to anxiety
Why do some people fret over the most trivial matters while others remain calm in the face of calamity? Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified two different chinks in our brain circuitry that explain why some of us are more prone to anxiety.

Sotomayor presides over packed moot court finals
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, saying the arguments gave her “an injection of hope,” presided over the finals of the James Patterson McBaine Honors Moot Court Competition before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 2,000 spectators packed inside Zellerbach Hall.

Kepler telescope discovers six planets around distant star
UC Berkeley astronomer Geoffrey Marcy is among Kepler team members who have announced hundreds of new planet candidates discovered by the space telescope. Among the confirmed planets are six orbiting a star dubbed Kepler-11. This is the largest number of planets around any star besides the Sun.

From breaking bread to erasing stereotypes: Winning innovation grants
A program to raise awareness about student veterans and another to bring Muslim and Jewish students together for a meal and frank conversation are among 13 projects selected to receive the campus’s first Innovation Grants. The grants are part of an ambitious plan to engage the entire campus community in creating a more welcoming climate for all students, faculty and staff.

Budget chief’s ax is a Strat — but the wind cries “change”
Among John Wilton’s prized possessions is a classic ’60s-era Fender Stratocaster, the iconic electric guitar made famous by generations of rock gods and the very model, he notes, favored by Jimi Hendrix. “But I never play it anymore,” he laments, “and my musical skills are down to about five chords.” Wilton, who began work this month as vice chancellor for administration and finance, doesn’t offer this as an object lesson; he’s simply a music lover and Hendrix fan. Just the same, purposefulness is a recurring riff as he reflects on his journey from London to Berkeley, and on how to steer the campus toward financial sustainability without sacrificing its place in the pantheon of public universities.

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